Sidney Ford

Sir Sidney Ford, MBE (29 August 1909–13 August 1983) was a British trade union leader.

Sidney William George Ford was born in Edmonton, London. Ford began working for the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) in 1925.^[1] He received his knighthood for his work on Lord Devlin's Docks Inquiry and other T.U.C. (trade union congress). He never worked as a miner, but became Secretary of the Colliery Officials and Staffs Area of the union. He was known for his loyalty to the Labour Party and his opposition to the union's left-wing.^[2]

The MFGB was refounded as the National Union of Mineworkers. Its president-elect, Alwyn Machen, died suddenly in March 1960, the same month he was elected. A new presidential election was held, and Ford stood against Alex Moffat, a Scottish communist.^[2] He retired in 1971. For a number of years prior to his death he suffered from Parkinsons Disease, and died as a result of this on 13 August 1983.^[1] He died in Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill, London N.21.

Ford's period as leadership was marked by mass pit closures and relatively little resistance. His successor, Joe Gormley, wrote in his autobiography that this passivity led many mineworkers to distrust the white-collar COSA section of the union, which influenced the lack of support for the moderate Trevor Bell, who ran against Arthur Scargill for the leadership in 1981.^[3]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
^ ^a ^b Andrew Taylor, The NUM and British Politics: 1969–1995, p.25
^ Gormley, Joe (1982). Battered Cherub. London: Hamish Hamilton. p. 207. ISBN 9780241107546.in Amos, David (December 2011). "THE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE MINERS', THE UNION OF DEMOCRATIC MINEWORKERS AND THE 1984-85 MINERS STRIKE: SCABS OR SCAPEGOATS?" (PDF). University of Nottingham. p. 43-44. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

Trade union offices
Preceded by James Shearer?	Secretary of the Colliery Officials and Staffs Area of the National Union of Mineworkers 1951–1960	Succeeded by Cliff Shephard
Preceded by Alwyn Machen	President of the National Union of Mineworkers 1960–1971	Succeeded by Joe Gormley

[whowaswho-1] "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 2012-05-27.

[taylor-2] Andrew Taylor, The NUM and British Politics: 1969–1995, p.25

[3] Gormley, Joe (1982). Battered Cherub. London: Hamish Hamilton. p. 207. ISBN 9780241107546.in Amos, David (December 2011). "THE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE MINERS', THE UNION OF DEMOCRATIC MINEWORKERS AND THE 1984-85 MINERS STRIKE: SCABS OR SCAPEGOATS?" (PDF). University of Nottingham. p. 43-44. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

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v t Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Presidents	1889 Pickard 1904 En. Edwards 1912 Smillie 1922 Smith 1929 Richards 1931 Eb. Edwards 1932 Lee 1934 J. Jones 1939 Lawther 1954 E. Jones 1960 Machen 1960 Ford 1971 Gormley 1982 Scargill 2002 Lavery 2012 Wilson
Vice-Presidents	1889 Woods 1909 Smillie 1912 Harvey 1914 House 1917 Smith 1922 Walsh 1924 Richards 1929 Eb. Edwards 1931 Lee 1932 J. Jones 1933 Davies 1934 Lawther 1939 Bowman 1950 E. Jones 1954 T. Jones 1961 Collindridge 1963 Bullough 1969 Schofield 1973 McGahey 1987 Thompson 1989 Vacant 1992 Cave 2002 2010 Wilson 2012
General Secretaries	1889 Ashton 1919 Hodges 1924 Cook 1932 Eb. Edwards 1946 Horner 1959 Paynter 1968 Daly 1984 Heathfield 1992 Scargill 1992 Vacant? 2002 Kemp 2007 Kitchen
Treasurers	1889 En. Edwards 1904 Abraham 1918 Robson 1921 Richardson
Affiliates and areas	Bristol Cleveland Cokemen Colliery Officials and Staffs Cumberland Derbyshire Durham Forest of Dean Kent Lancashire and Cheshire Leicestershire Midland Counties (Cannock Chase North Staffordshire Old Hill Pelsall Shropshire Warwickshire West Bromwich) Northumberland North Wales Nottinghamshire Scotland (Ayrshire Fife and Kinross Lanarkshire Mid and East Lothian Mid and West Lothian Stirling) Somerset South Derbyshire South Wales Yorkshire
Strikes	1893 1912 1926 1969 1972 1974 1984–1985